A Sudanese militiaman fighting under the command of the United Arab Emirates along the coastal highway leading to the contested port of Hudaydah, Yemen.CreditCreditTyler Hicks/The New York Times
New York Times: On the Front Line of the Saudi War in Yemen: Child Soldiers From Darfur
KHARTOUM, Sudan — The civil war in Darfur robbed Hager Shomo Ahmed of almost any hope. Raiders had stolen his family’s cattle, and a dozen years of bloodshed had left his parents destitute.
Then, around the end of 2016, Saudi Arabia offered a lifeline: The kingdom would pay as much as $10,000 if Hager joined its forces fighting 1,200 miles away in Yemen.
Hager, 14 at the time, could not find Yemen on a map, and his mother was appalled. He had survived one horrific civil war — how could his parents toss him into another? But the family overruled her.
“Families know that the only way their lives will change is if their sons join the war and bring them back money,” Hager said in an interview last week in the capital, Khartoum, a few days after his 16th birthday.
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More News On Reports That Saudi Arabia Is Paying Sudanese Children To Fight In Yemen
Saudi Arabia is reportedly paying up to $10,000 to Sudanese militiamen, including child soldiers, to fight in their brutal war in Yemen -- Business Insider
Saudi Arabia recruited Darfur children for Yemen war: report -- The Hill
Child soldiers from Darfur fighting at front line of war in Yemen, returned soldiers say -- The Independent
Saudi Arabia pays Sudanese children to fight in Yemen, report claims -- Daily Sabah
Saudi Arabia recruited Darfur children to fight in Yemen: NYT -- Al Jazeera
Saudi Arabia is reportedly outsourcing its war in Yemen to child soldiers -- VOX
Arabs persecuted, enslaved, and robbed the people of Darfur blind. Other Arabs are paying them to be mercenaries. Being a mercenary is a good option. It is the choice between dying slow or dying fast, but leaving your family with some money and with a chance to live.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside George Clooney tried to tug the heart strings and get us involved in Darfur. We'd seen this movie before. George Bush did not take the liberal bait.
"In 2006 a Hollywood star sparked global interest in a war in Sudan. Did it make a difference? We speak to the people who were there" - The Gourdian